But the latest, designed to regenerate the heart of Sheffield by building newsquares, a gallery and winter gardens, is being financed largely by the private sector.
New Year trees have been erected in central squares across Uzbek cities and residents say New Year entertainment programmes for children are still being organised - but on a much smaller scale than in Soviet times.
Or "Undivided Divided, " Shen Wei's new work for the Park Avenue Armory, where ticketbuyers are encouraged to walk among 30 dancers as they perform in squares painted on the floor.